GATTACA
Director: Andrew M. Niccol.
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Gore Vidal, Alan Arkin,
Ernest Borgnine.
Gattaca is a futuristic film with a 1950s feel to it. This
is not the contradiction that it sounds. It is shiny and new and
slick, giving it an aura of the future, where genetics determine one's
destiny. Along side that, the suits, the cars and even the nightclub,
convey a 50s atmosphere, suggesting more than a surface link to the
era that brought the McCarthy hearings.
The brave new world of Gattaca is a place where babies are
genetically engineered to be the best possible offspring that their
parents could produce. (There is no time given to the idea that some
people may not be able to produce reasonable children.) "Love
children", conceived the old fashioned way, are discriminated against,
being termed in-valid, versus the genetically engineered valids.
(Again, ignoring an extension of this that there is a possibility that
in-valids could be genetically ok.)
Vincent (Mr. Ethan Hawke) is a love-child with a very high chance of
heart problems resulting in his death at 32. As such, although he has
dreams of being an astronaut, he is destined to live his life
cleaning. Gattaca follows his attempt to become an astronaut
and the murder investigation that follows when his supervisor is
killed.
As mentioned above, this movie could be seen as a metaphor for the 50s
when people's careers were ruined, not for being a communist but for
potentially being a communist. Analogously, people are discriminated
against in Gattaca, not for their inability to perform
certain jobs but for their potential to fail. All very interesting,
you say, but is it a good movie?
When Gattaca sticks to the ambiance of the future and the
general idea of genetic engineering, it succeeds quite well in
conveying a sense of paranoia about the smallest trace of one's skin
or hair giving one away. That's all it succeeds at, however. The
characters are weak, the dialogue pathetic (and I'm being kind here)
and the plot inane. Just what was going on with the brothers: all
that swimming? Similarly, the romance between Vincent and Irene
(Ms. Uma Thurman) is forced and the murder plot feels like a
contrivance to give the movie some direction; it fails, becoming a
distraction from the more interesting scene-setting parts of the
movie. I also have a problem with Mr. Hawke: just what is he trying
to do with his lips?
As something to look at, Gattaca is stylish and smart, with a
premise novel enough to spawn some interesting ideas,
none of which are followed up.
As a movie, Gattaca is less than a success,
degenerating into murder/chase/sibling-rivalry cliches involving
uninteresting people.
Rating: P
© Nikki Lesley 1997